Australian entertainer arrested in Jimmy Savile case

Tim Barlass

An 82-year-old Australian entertainer has been arrested on suspicion of sexual offences, by officers investigating former BBC star Jimmy Savile.

The pensioner from Berkshire, west of London, is one of 11 people arrested so far under Operation Yewtree, which is investigating people linked to Savile.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said there were three categories of people subject to the investigation: Savile himself, people close to the presenter and "others".

The 82-year-old is in the last category which "is generally people who were in the public spotlight at around that time", the spokesman said.

The Berkshire man was interviewed under caution in late November 2012, five days after a search warrant was executed at his address in Berkshire.

Police stressed Thursday’s arrest was not connected to the specific allegations made against Savile.

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The arrested man was bailed to a date in May, pending further inquiries.

No mainstream media have named the interviewed man, either when he was questioned previously or now.

A friend of the man's family last year expressed shock at the raging online rumour mill which had built on the internet.

The family friend, who declined to be named, asked then if the entertainer could have committed such offences, replied: ‘‘Absolutely not ... The whole thing is crazy.’’

A close family member, who lives in Sydney, then declined to make any comment.

Savile was a hugely popular but eccentric figure, famed for his shock of white hair, tracksuits and chunky gold jewellery, but since his death his reputation has been destroyed by revelations that he abused hundreds of children and women.

British police said earlier this year in a report into his activities that Savile "groomed the nation" over six decades, hiding behind his fame to assault girls, boys and adult women on BBC premises and in schools and hospitals.

The publicly-funded BBC made Savile one of its biggest stars in the 1970s and 1980s as presenter of BBC TV's Top of the Pops chart show and children's program Jim'll Fix It.